Church of Saint George at Chios Castle

The Church of Saint George stands in Chios’s Kastro quarter and is one of the city’s oldest. According to a stone Ottoman inscription, it was built in AD 993. At various times it functioned as a Catholic church, a mosque, and an Orthodox church. Under the Genoese, it became Roman Catholic. When Chios was conquered by the Ottomans in 1566, it was converted into a mosque, the Eski Cami, and remained so until Chios’s liberation on 11 November 1912. It began use as a church in 1914 by refugees from Asia Minor. Since then it has served as the main church of the Fortress parish. In the courtyard is a marble sarcophagus, likely the monument of a prominent Giustiniani. The church houses notable relics such as sacred vessels, coverings, icons, books, candle stands, and more. A unique icon dedicated to Chios’s saints is also kept there.